Harry Potter and the Rewinding of Time
by GlimmerGamingMC
Summary: When Harry Potter reads Professor Albus Dumbledore's personal diary, he discovers an awful truth. Follow Harry as he enlists Fawkes to rewind time and save the world. But what happens when he goes too far back into time? No slash.
1. Chapter 1: A New Post!

Harry Potter and the Rewinding of Time

Chapter 1: A New Post

A/N 'Funny' disclaimers are back!

Disclaimer: I looked in the mirror this morning and didn't see JK Rowling. This either means that the laws of physics have changed or I'm not her. (In other words, don't expect me to write canon.)

-O0O0O-

The dark figure walked through freezing London, huddled under a grey cloak, trying to preserve as much warmth as possible. His cloak, now more white than grey from the snow that covered it, flapped in the freezing wind, and the figure wrapped it more tightly around himself. The other Londoners ignored the figure, too busy trying to keep themselves warm to care. After all, he was no different to them. Just another human being going to his job early in the morning. Nothing abnormal about that.

The figure walked into a bathroom, chose a stall, and began to do something very abnormal. He stood in the toilet bowl and flushed it. The figure pulled off his cloak as he soared down the pipes, seeming to magically fit down the narrow plumbing. He could feel the heating charms already.

Harry Potter flew out of one of the many fireplaces that lined the Ministry atrium, cloak in hand, and managed a decent landing. Over five years of flushing himself down those toilets meant that he could land expertly on his feet. Maybe it was the Quidditch; the Chudley Cannons had managed to win for the first time in many years with Harry on their side, so he must have been skilled. However, obligations had led Harry to quit professional Quidditch and take up a job at the Ministry. Maybe the same training and dedication that made him the Ministry's best auror also made him so good at landing on his feet. Either way, he was extremely proud of the way he exited the fireplace, and everyone at the Ministry knew not to disagree with him. Harry's auror training and work with Hermione, the current head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, meant that he knew a lot of hexes, and many a Ministry employee has spent a day with their tongue stuck to the roof of their mouth or oversized front teeth for saying that they exited the fireplace better than him. All Ministry employees had learnt to stagger a bit when they landed, just in case Harry was there and thought that they looked more stylish than he did.

Harry dusted himself off and walked over to the elevator, nodding to a few employees he recognised, and pressed a button. The elevator began to move. It stopped at the first level, and Hermione entered the elevator, nodding and smiling at Harry, who stood aside to give her somewhere to stand. "How's the house elf legislation going?" he asked. Hermione smiled.

"Almost got it through the Wizengamot. Just the final votes this afternoon and it will all be over. And I think that I've at least got a majority, thanks to you." Harry frowned.

"Thanks to me?" he inquired.

"When you passed that law to open the Wizengamot to anyone, not just the old pureblood families, you let a lot of people supporting to my cause in. Although," she amended, "A lot of them probably only agree because I'm your friend. But I don't care either way." The elevator arrived at the Auror offices, and Harry stepped out, Hermione following him.

"Where are you going?" Harry asked.

"I'm going to talk with Kingsley. He wanted a report on the new laws regarding under age magic and the rework of the trace. Good work on that, by the way. It would have taken a lot of struggle to get that past the purebloods." Hermione commented. Harry nodded.

"Extremely difficult. They didn't want their children to be able to be caught doing magic at home." Harry had recently been promoting a reworking of the trace, the spell placed on every underage wizard that detected if they used magic. It could not distinguish who did the magic, so it was useless when in proximity to adult wizards. Pureblood parents had been using this fact to train their children at home during the holidays, as the trace would assume the magic it detected was coming from the adult. Voldemort had modified the trace, changing it so that it extended beyond 17 years. He had used it to identify when someone said the word 'Voldemort', which led to many incidents when Harry, Ron and Hermione had been tracking him. The Aurors had fixed the trace shortly after the war ended, but Harry had been pushing for the trace to be refined so that it wouldn't be able to be fooled by the mere presence of an adult wizard. Pureblood wizards had resisted, seeing as it would ruin the advantage that their children had over muggleborns (seeing as they could practise magic during the holidays), but Harry, through rallying the muggleborns and half-bloods loyal to him, had managed to finally force the modifications through the Wizengamot a few days earlier.

"I would have given up. It seemed like you would never be able to get it through." Hermione said as they arrived at Harry's desk. Harry had decorated his desk in memory of the late Alastor 'Mad Eye' Moody, covering it with dark detectors. A slight smile graced Hermione's face when she saw the desk. She knew that Mad Eye had been Harry's biggest drive to join the Aurors. While it had been an imposter that originally gave him the idea, Moody had encouraged Harry before being killed in the course of evacuating Harry from the Dursley's house on the 27th of July 1997. Harry smiled at her comment.

"I had inspiration."

"Dobby?"

"You got it." Harry smiled at her and sat down. "See you around? We need to talk about that house elf law this afternoon. How about we go out for dinner at the Leaky Cauldron with Ron and Ginny?" Hermione smiled.

"I'll be there." She replied, and began to walk away, towards Kingsley's office.

Harry sighed as he saw a huge pile of papers on his magical in-tray. One downside to being an Auror is that he had to deal with a large amount of paperwork. He reached out to the tray but was surprised when the tray rattled. A letter appeared in the top, bearing the Hogwarts crest. Harry frowned and grabbed it. He opened the letter. He froze, his morning coffee half way to his mouth. He slowly put the coffee back down and grabbed a parchment and quill, eyes not leaving the parchment. What was going on with his life?

-O0O0O-

Professor McGonagall walked through the halls of Hogwarts. The students were on board the Hogwarts Express, and she had still not managed to find a Defence professor. Even after Voldemort's defeat, people were still wary about the supposed curse on the job. She had thrown caution to the winds and owled the one person she knew would not worry about a 'curse' on a job. Harry Potter.

She knew Harry was busy at the Ministry, but she also knew that he harboured a secret wish to become the DADA professor. She had seen Harry's teaching ability in Dumbledore's Army, and she had seen how much he enjoyed that. He had even applied for the position a year after the end of the second wizarding war. McGonagall had been willing to accept, but Harry retracted his offer after he realised that he had to help the wizarding world get back on his feet. It was the same year he quit the Cannons.

She knew that she had taken a risk. Her owl would only just have reached Harry, and the students were just arriving at the castle. Harry wouldn't arrive until the middle of the welcoming feast at the very earliest – if he did accept at all. Yes, McGonagall understood that she was taking a risk.

-O0O0O-

The younger students arrived in the great hall in an excellent mood. These children were not scarred by the wizarding war. The older students were a little more resigned. For them, arrival at the castle reminded them of the Battle of Hogwarts. The seventh years had been ten when that happened, but they still remembered the horrible effects of the war. Even the third years were five when it happened. They remembered almost nothing. But Hogwarts was not the same as it had been before either of the wars. It never would be.

Professor McGonagall stood up and silenced the students. She opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the doors to the great hall opening with a crash, just as there was a lightning strike outside. Some of the students screamed; Professor McGonagall merely hid a smile. It seemed that Harry Potter wanted to start the year the same way that Mad Eye Moody did.

Harry strode down the centre aisle, between the Ravenclaws and Gryffindors. His footsteps were the only sound as he walked towards the head table. However, he heard applause starting at the Gryffindor table as he reached the half way point. It seemed that some people had got over their shock. The applause started to gather momentum as Harry finally reached the head table. He smiled at McGonagall, handing her a piece of parchment, which she put in a pocket.

"I would have sent an owl, but this is so much cooler."

"I see you haven't regained your sanity, Potter." McGonagall replied. Harry merely smiled.

"I would have to be mad to accept an invitation to this place." Harry sat down on McGonagall's right. "I accept, by the way."

-O0O0O-

A/N Thanks for reading! I like to interact with my readers, so leave a review. I might take your advice into consideration!

This chapter is probably about the length that a normal chapter will be. A little shorter than the original, but I like to think that my writing has become better since then.

If you have read the original, you might have noticed that the story has changed quite a bit. I still wanted to keep the original storyline, though.

I might continue this story sometime soon. I have no inspiration left, but it generally comes back very quickly.

Thanks for reading once more.

GlimmerGamingMC


	2. Chapter 2: An Artefact

Harry Potter and the Rewinding of Time

Chapter 2: An Artefact

Disclaimer: Does anyone even know where Harry Potter even is right now? I certainly don't, because I DON'T OWN HARRY POTTER. Please take what I write with a grain of salt.

-O0O0O-

The door to the defence classroom slammed shut, causing all the sixth years gathered to jump. Harry walked with long strides to stand in front of the classroom, an imposing figure, even more so if you took into account his reputation. He had already put more people into a now dementor-less Askaban (more of Hermione's work) than Mad Eye Moody, and in much less time too. So, it was understandable that his mere presence was enough to silence the assembled sixth years.

"Books away. Today will be a practical lesson." Harry said to the class. He had already had a few classes with the sixth years, all of which had been on the theory of the patronus charm. Therefore, what he said next was not a surprise to the students. "Today we will finally be attempting the patronus charm. Stand up, please." He said. Once everyone had stood up, he waved his wand, and the desks flew against the wall. "Wands out." The students looked understandably nervous as they did so. Harry had spent much time telling them how much concentration the patronus charm required, and everyone in the room was nervous about their ability to do the spell. "Ready?" Harry asked. A few students nodded, but most didn't react. "Well then, repeat after me. Expecto Pat-" Harry froze as his fireplace burst into life, Professor McGonagall's head appearing in the flames. "Minerva." Harry said by way of greeting. He had enormous respect for Minerva McGonagall, seeing as she had led the school in a battle against Voldemortjust on Harry's word.

"Potter." She replied, deathly serious. "I have something you need to see. Come to my office immediately." The students had all stopped to listen in. Harry turned to them, making a decision.

"Davis?" Harry asked. A Slytherin stepped forward. Harry had found that he was reliable and responsible, perfectly suited for the task that Harry had for him. And it didn't matter that he was a Slytherin – after learning the truth about Snape, Harry had managed to remove most of his Slytherin prejudices.

"Yes, Professor?" Davis asked.

"Please look after the class while I am gone. Go over shield charms and basic duelling spells." Harry said, before sweeping out of the classroom to cries of dismay from the students. He smiled grimly before apparating (he had overheard McGonagall when she had created the key to the wards, which allowed him to apparate inside the castle. She had no idea). He arrived just outside McGonagall's office, and the gargoyles jumped a little at seeing him apparate inside Hogwarts. "Griffin." Harry said. The gargoyles jumped aside. Harry climbed the stairs two at a time. He had no idea what McGonagall wanted, but it must be important for him to be dragged out of class for. He opened the door to see McGonagall muttering spells over an open book on her desk. He coughed to gain her attention.

"I have no idea how you got here so quickly, Auror Potter." Professor McGonagall said, looking up from the book. Harry didn't miss her calling him 'Auror' Potter. He knew what that meant – she had called him as an Auror, not as a Professor. She went back to muttering incantations on the book. Harry approached carefully.

"I know many things about Hogwarts, Minerva." Harry replied. "What do you require my assistance with?"

"This book." Minerva replied. She seemed perplexed. "I was searching Dumbledore's collection of books when I found it. It is labelled as a book on substance theory, which I happened to be researching when I found it." She noticed Harry's frown. "Substance theory is the extremely complex theory behind how Transfiguration works. You would have to take a post-school course in Transfiguration to even hear it mentioned." She stepped back from the book. "I noticed nothing suspicious at first. But when I opened it, it was written in a language which I didn't recognise, and I got a Dark Magic feeling from it. I can't detect anything with basic detection charms, but I thought you might want to take a look at it." Harry nodded and approached the book, but stopped short when he was close enough to see the writing properly. He drew in a breath.

"What is wrong?" asked Minerva.

"It's written in Parseltongue." Harry replied. Minerva looked at him, worried.

"Why would Dumbledore have a book written in Parseltongue?" she asked. Harry shrugged. He began to wave his wand in some extremely complicated wand motions, muttering incantations under his breath. Minerva just watched him. "It doesn't seem to have any curses on it, but I won't pretend to be on the same level as Dumbledore. Just in case, if you feel anything strange, head straight to St. Mungo's, Minerva." He looked at her seriously during the last sentence, not unlike what Dumbledore used to do.

"Why not the hospital wing?" Minerva asked.

"The hospital wing is good enough to handle most minor curses, but if a curse can evade my thorough scan of the book, it will definitely not be minor. St. Mungo's would be the safest place to go." Minerva nodded. Harry took some dragon hide gloves out of his pocket and used them to pick up the book. He carried it out of the room. "One more thing, Minerva?" Harry asked.

"What, Potter?"

"Can I commandeer a classroom? This merits at least a basic investigation." Harry said. Minerva frowned, a little surprised.

"It's just a book, Potter."

"Remember Riddle's diary? That was just a book. While this is most certainly not a horcrux of any kind, I have a bad feeling about it. My Auror senses have never failed me in five years of front line Auror work. I doubt they have failed me now." He shrugged. "If I didn't want to cause a huge scene, I would have the full Auror Department investigating this 'just a book.'" Harry replied. She hesitated a second, then nodded.

"You can have classroom 3C, Potter." She said by way of dismissal. She sighed as Harry left the room. She just wanted this over and done with.

-O0O0O-

It turned out that this would take some time to get over and done with, much to McGonagall's annoyance. She had not been impressed when Harry marched a full investigation squad into Hogwarts without so much as giving her prior warning. She was even less so when he calmly told her that it might take several months to deal with the book. So, it was not surprising that she was now pacing in her office, venting her anger at the portraits on the wall. Dumbledore's portrait, which had always seemed to be sleeping and unwakeable whenever she wanted to talk to him about the book, was listening with rapt attention as she ranted about this 'simple book'.

"I mean, it's just a book! Yes, it is written in Parseltongue, but there must be hundreds of other books written in Parseltongue! It was a mistake, getting Potter involved, he's worse than Moody. I don't know what I was thinking!" she ranted, pacing her office.

"Minerva?" asked Dumbledore.

"Albus!" Minerva turned to his portrait, annoyed at him for ignoring her earlier attempts to wake him. "What is this book?" Dumbledore seemed to hesitate before replying.

"Just a book I learnt Parseltongue from, Minerva. It is just a simple account of my duel with Grindelwald, documented by Tom Riddle, who was there. I discovered it in one of his old lairs, and took it to learn Parseltongue. I labelled it as a book on substance theory so no one would discover that I know Parseltongue. I like to play my cards close to my chest, you might say." Dumbledore said. Minerva sagged with relief.

"Thank you, Albus. I knew there was nothing wrong with that book. Now I can retrieve it off Auror Potter." She turned to leave to find Harry, but at that point there was a knock on the door. Minerva frowned. One of the silver instruments in the office emitted a puff of smoke in the shape of Harry's head. "Come in, Potter." She said.

"Minerva." Harry said as he entered the room. He carried a piece of parchment in his hand. He opened his mouth to speak, but Minerva interrupted him.

"No, Potter. I need to speak to you." Harry closed his mouth, leant his back against the wall, and motioned to Minerva to continue. She noticed that he looked stressed, but ignored it in her anger. "Professor Dumbledore has just informed me that the book was written by one Tom Riddle, and that it documents the duel between Dumbledore and Grindelwald in 1945. Professor Dumbledore used it to learn Parseltongue. See, nothing suspicious at all." Harry raised one eyebrow, but otherwise did not react. McGonagall continued. "Potter, I want that book returned to this office by tomorrow, and those Aurors out of my castle by the end of the week. No questions asked." Harry raised his other eyebrow. "I also want you to apologise to Professor Dumbledore for suspecting him." Harry raised his eyebrows even higher. "And finally, I want you to please refrain from investigating anything further without my express permission. _Am I clear?_ " she asked forcefully. Harry stood upright, ran a hand through his hair, and turned away from Minerva. When he spoke, it was obvious that his words were measured, as though he had prepared for this beforehand.

"Minerva, you are perfectly clear. And what you say is completely sensible, if you believe what Dumbledore told you." He turned back to a shocked McGonagall.

"You cannot be saying…" she said disbelievingly. She rearranged her features to be stern once more. "Why would he lie?" she asked confidently, but there was a dangerous tone in her voice.

"Maybe you should ask him?" Harry suggested. But Minerva was too fed up with Harry to just follow what he said blindly.

"So, you are suggesting that I calmly asked the _greatest wizard in history_ , the leader of the light throughout both wars with Voldemort, why he lied to us, without a scrap of proof that he did such a thing? No, Potter! I need proof, not just your word, before I do such a thing!" she shouted. She dimly noted that Dumbledore's portrait had fallen asleep, but was too angry to completely notice. Harry took an involuntary step backwards, before straightening up and looking Minerva in the eye.

"You forget I read Parseltongue, Headmaster McGonagall." Harry said. It was Minerva's turn to step back. But before she could reply, Snape's portrait spoke up.

"I thought that you only spoke Parseltongue because of Voldemort's horcrux in you?" Snape commented curiously. McGonagall did not appreciate the interruption. Harry gave a wry smile.

"Nope. Turns out I'm a naturally born Parselmouth." Snape raised his eyebrows. Harry turned back to Minerva as if the interruption had never happened.

"You read it?" Minerva asked. Harry nodded.

"Yup. Although it seems to be in some kind of code. But listen to this section that our codebreakers managed to decode." Harry turned to Dumbledore's portrait. His angry eyes actually surprised McGonagall. She had never seen him so angry. "You might want to listen in, _Albus_." He fired a charm at Dumbledore's portrait, which caused him to freeze in the chair he had been painted in, eyes wide open. Minerva deduced that whatever he had found, it was something big. She knew she had been close to firing Harry, and she knew that he was enough of a Legilimens to know that. It had to be important for Harry to risk his job as Defence professor. "Let me read this to you. It is dated 21st of August 1973 – near the start of the First Wizarding War. Let's see what is written here." Minerva noticed that Dumbledore had gone white as a sheet. Harry himself seemed nervous, scared even, to read what was on the paper, but the most obvious emotion he was showing was anger. Minerva began to wonder if she even wanted to know what was written on that paper. She suddenly realised that no one had spoken for several minutes.

"Go on, Potter." She said, a bad feeling chilling her veins.

"Of course, Minerva." He took a deep breath. It seemed that no amount of preparation would suffice to make him ready to say what he was about to say. His hand was shaking where it held the paper. His hands were sweaty, and he looked a little pale. "I, Albus Dumbledore, have finally succeeded in my goal." He took another deep breath, summoned a glass of water, and downed it in one gulp. He turned back to his reading. "I have finally managed to gain control over Tom Marvolo Riddle. Now he had finish the work I have started, and place the Muggles where they should be. Then, once Harry Potter dies, killing Tom in the process, I can complete my final goal and rule the combined Wizarding and Muggle worlds."

Minerva stood, stunned, for a few seconds. She felt faint, but she noticed that Harry seemed to be taking the news even worse. She suddenly saw through her anger at him and realised how unwell he looked. She was filled with concern, and all traces of anger at Harry were gone.

"Harry-" she began, but Harry beat her to it.

"Minerva, I hope you understand that I will have to take this investigation further?" he said. Minerva frowned.

"Of course, but you have to get some sleep. You look like you might just collapse in front of me." Harry gave a tired smile, and began to leave the room. Minerva turned to the portrait of Dumbledore. He looked very scared, and Minerva thought that he was nowhere near scared enough.

"HOW COULD YOU, ALBUS?" she shouted. Harry smiled and closed the door behind him. Albus would be well and truly chewed out by the time McGonagall was done with him.

-O0O0O-

A/N Thanks for reading! I like to interact with my readers, so leave a review. I might take your advice into consideration!

See you next time,

GlimmerGamingMC


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